isaaccarlson
Addicted to ArboristSite
The gas motor on my splitter crapped out this year. It started smoking like a weber grill and I was already thinking of converting to electric, the smoke just helped finalize the decision.
It stunk up the whole neighborhood when I took it in to town to help a friend split his firewood. It looked like a smoker going, but it didn't smell like one. I had rebuilt that old motor and pump once or twice already, so I just pulled them both off.
I had a pump that I bought from a guy last year. It needed a little work, but I got it going and measured the insides to get gpm #'s. I also scrounged up a 240v single phase 3600 rpm motor from a friend of a friend. I thought about getting a 5hp and a new speeco pump, but the cost was very prohibitive. I have about $100 into the finished swap. It's quieter than the noisy gas motor, there is no more vibration, and there are no stinky fumes or sore throats after splitting. I don't have to try to start a cold motor, check/change oil, or worry about gas. It's awesome.
The only real downside is the inability to idle the motor to warm the oil when the temps are below about 20*, so it makes some noise for a minute or two when it's really cold.
The cycle time is a bit faster than it was with the gas motor because the pump is a little bigger, but it has a smaller high pressure side so I can get full pressure with the electric motor. I have it set to shift at about 700-800 psi and the relief is at 3400, but it almost never goes over 2400, so I might turn it down to 3000. It blows right through 99% of the rounds with the 4 way and is easily 3x faster than the single wedge.
The 4 way wedge slips over the single wedge so I can remove it for the tougher pieces. The pump whines because it is running at 3600 rpm, you just never hear it over the gas motor. I would have loved to use a 22gpm pump with a 1725 rpm motor so it would be quieter, but the cost was prohibitive and I already had these parts.
This video taken with the shift pressure set very low (around 300 psi), and the one pice had a knot that got sheared. I will get some good video of it with the new shift setting.
It stunk up the whole neighborhood when I took it in to town to help a friend split his firewood. It looked like a smoker going, but it didn't smell like one. I had rebuilt that old motor and pump once or twice already, so I just pulled them both off.
I had a pump that I bought from a guy last year. It needed a little work, but I got it going and measured the insides to get gpm #'s. I also scrounged up a 240v single phase 3600 rpm motor from a friend of a friend. I thought about getting a 5hp and a new speeco pump, but the cost was very prohibitive. I have about $100 into the finished swap. It's quieter than the noisy gas motor, there is no more vibration, and there are no stinky fumes or sore throats after splitting. I don't have to try to start a cold motor, check/change oil, or worry about gas. It's awesome.
The only real downside is the inability to idle the motor to warm the oil when the temps are below about 20*, so it makes some noise for a minute or two when it's really cold.
The cycle time is a bit faster than it was with the gas motor because the pump is a little bigger, but it has a smaller high pressure side so I can get full pressure with the electric motor. I have it set to shift at about 700-800 psi and the relief is at 3400, but it almost never goes over 2400, so I might turn it down to 3000. It blows right through 99% of the rounds with the 4 way and is easily 3x faster than the single wedge.
The 4 way wedge slips over the single wedge so I can remove it for the tougher pieces. The pump whines because it is running at 3600 rpm, you just never hear it over the gas motor. I would have loved to use a 22gpm pump with a 1725 rpm motor so it would be quieter, but the cost was prohibitive and I already had these parts.
This video taken with the shift pressure set very low (around 300 psi), and the one pice had a knot that got sheared. I will get some good video of it with the new shift setting.
